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TDM: May
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aefenglom's test drive! All threads can be considered game canon, should you choose to do so; regardless of if you pick specific threads to remain canon to the game, the prompts and test drive itself will be. This will be touched on later in-game, so it's fairly important to note! Aside from that, here are some quick reminders:• Reserves Open Today! If you're interested in securing a spot, put one in! We accept applications without reserves too, of course. Reserves will expire three days before the end of the application period, on the 28th.With that taken care of...
• Applications Open The 24th! These will last until the end of the month, the 31st, with the intro log going on up June 1st. The application page can be found here.
• If you have any questions about the game or the world, please refer to the FAQ page; if you still have questions, feel free to ask them! For questions specific to the test drive, please ask them on the appropriate thread.
• For the purposes of the test drive, your character will have access to all magics taught by the Coven if they're a Witch, and as much of their shifted form as you'd like if they're a Monster. Feel free to play around and experiment with each!
• While current players won't be allowed to post top levels on the test drive itself, feel free to reference or play with the dreams in-game.
• Test drive threads can be used as samples for your applications!
You feel like you're floating. Around you, colors and sounds and smells swirl as if trapped in a whirlpool, vibrancy and hue ever shifting. The more you watch them, the less solid they are; they only become clear out of the corner of your eye. The area around you begins to feel more solid as well, until your feet are on the ground, the wind brushes playfully against your face -
and you know one thing, and one thing alone: this is a dream, and an incredibly realistic one at that.
The Eternal Fall
The smell of autumn leaves surrounds you, a myriad of colors sparkling into existence at the same time. Despite the warmth and light, the air feels heavy and stiff, as if on razor's edge. The forest is eerily silent - not a bird, bug, or rodent dares to stir - and when you do hear something, it's the high-pitched crying, whining, weeping, sobbing, howling sounds of something far off. The tunnel of bent branches invites you further with an unpleasant compulsion; though fighting it and turning around finds you in front of a chilly, damp cave alight with the faint, cool glow of bubbling fountains and streams.
 The Compulsion Unable to sway yourself from the call of the forest - or maybe you're simply curious as to where it leads - your feet pull you further and further into the autumnal tunnel. The cry from before grows more distant, but in return, the air weighs even heavier on your shoulders than before. The branches hang lower and lower as well, as if pushed by gravity, until their leaves smack your face, twigs offering small cuts from the thorns protruding from their bark. But you can't stop. Not now. The end of the tunnel seems so close; but it's seemed that way for a while now, you suppose, and you've already come this far - you might as well stay the course, wherever it might lead. The further you go, the brighter everything becomes, and you realize it's the leaves surrounding you; they've begun to glow, encouraged by the sunlight streaming in from above, and the wind begins to whisper in your ear. At first, it's only encouraging things, or silly facts - harmless words, but as the foliage begins to shimmer and reflect your image, the wind's words turn colder. Within those reflections on the autumn tunnel, you begin to see your worst moments - morally, ethically, emotionally. The things you don't want anyone else to know, that you'd feel ashamed or struck for anyone - especially those close to you - to see. The wind becomes louder as the scenes play out one right after another, boldly declaring your true feelings as they were in that moment, good or bad. Worst of all - you still can't bring yourself to turn back, even as your mind begins to free itself from the tunnel's compulsion. Maybe someone else can help out, if they're not too taken by their own memories, or maybe the shock of sharing such private secrets will jolt you and anyone else back to reality. Either way, it's that, or staying stuck watching your worst memories play on repeat for what feels like the rest of your life. |
 The Cry While not compelled by any means, you still feel a curious draw down the path in front of you; as you follow the leaf tunnel, with others or alone, you find another, less-traveled path. Following it reveals a large pond colored orange and gold by the reflection of the area it's in, sunlight and shadows playing on its surface. At a glance, it seems to be rather shallow, but that's hardly the truth. You realize, after a moment, that the crying has continued, evidently coming from the water. Looking closer, the culprit is an infected Merrow, who - upon begin seen - shrieks and dives for whoever's looking at it with the clear intent to drag them down beneath the water. Its claws are extra sharp, its teeth similar to a shark in number and shape, and its scales have turned a pale black; an oil-like substance flows from beneath them and from its gums as well, shimmering the same way gasoline does in the light, and its eyes are the tell-tale white of a Shade. It isn't impossible to fight it to get away, especially as some of you have new abilities at hand, and some of you have a few neat changes to help that along. Once distance is successfully put between you and the infected Merrow, it howls in a wet, warbly voice, visibly frustrated. Unlike ordinary Merrows, who can walk on land and have legs as long as they stay dry, this Merrow can't seem leave its pond at all, and electricity sparks from it like little static shocks in its irritation. It does dive back under once it realizes it can't reach you, resurfacing as your character's most important person in an attempt to lure them back. The expressions are far too real, too genuine; even those aware it's a Merrow might be fooled. While its voice isn't a perfect mimicry, the song it begins to sing has with it notes of yearning and beckoning to join it, join your beloved person, in the water. |
 The Cave Pulling yourself from curiosity or compulsion, the cave behind you - in front of you, if you've turned around - gives off an oddly pure feeling. Like an oasis in a desert, it feels refreshing and calm; incredibly safe, compared to the eerie call of the forest it's in. Within the cave are pools of water that glow and glimmer from the magic runes found around them. The runes shift similar to a mirage whenever you try to focus on them; and try as you might, you can't glimpse what they say exactly. It isn't so hard to figure out though, as the pools of water surrounded by them have a pleasingly cold temperature, while those without them are near scalding. A few of the latter have runes around them, but they're not glowing like the rest - feeding a little magic into them changes this immediately, and steam rises in a sudden blast as the water cools rapidly. The opposite can be done for the colder pools too - taking their magic somehow or ruining the runes will make them bubble and boil as they surge in temperature. But that isn't all the cave has to offer. Moving further inward, you get the feeling you're going down - beneath the ground and the enchanting forest. Eventually, the cave widens out to a massive underground lake, multiple waterfalls pouring into it; despite their number and size, the room is completely silent. All tunnels seem to lead to this one room, with a few of them looking more man-made than natural. Traversing other tunnels leads you into a maze that only ever brings you to the lake, or to the cave's entrance, no matter how many different paths you take. Something different happens eventually though; signs of life begin to appear, or at least signs that life once lived there. Leather pouches rotted by the dampness of the cave hang on sharp nails beaten into the cave walls, with boots in similar condition strewn here and there. Torn, soaking clothing lays in piles in the tunnels, and candles burnt down to their wick's end stand in shelves carved from the navy blue and black stone. There's broken toys and books too waterlogged to read, instruments with snapped strings or clogged holes, and - most peculiarly - smooth, round devices that heavily resemble large pocketwatches or hand mirrors. They refuse to turn on though, either due to age or due to the wetness of the air. |
no subject
Some monster in the lake. It looked like my brother, but... it wasn't him.
[Papyrus looks to the waterfall, his jaw shifting to the side a little and his cheekbones and eyesockets drooping enough to be a frown. At least he did find his brother later, he thinks, and made sure neither of them went for a lethal swim. There's always up-sides to be found, if he just looks for them. And with that, he forces a smile again.]
But, uh, who knows! Food washes down waterfalls sometimes.
no subject
Sitting up straight, Tony gives the bones a hard look.]
Will those heal? Do you usually- I mean, I don't really know if you normally heal if you get hurt.
[Is hurt even the right word for it? Another question he has buzzing in his head now. The helpful tip does get a little smile out of him.]
I don't think that's how waterfalls work. But at least it could be worse.
no subject
[Which, they've already discussed, is a bit of a concern down here. Most food washing down waterfalls is still in sealed packages, the kind of mediocre food that humans willingly throw out... And there's no guarantee there's any wasteful humans upstream. But there's enough similarities between these waterfalls and those he's used to for him to comfortably hold out hope.]
I'm... sure it will be okay when I wake up! And if we're down here long enough, it'll heal with time alone.
[Papyrus runs a clawed finger gently over the scratch again, trying and failing to heal it with his own magic. Magic continues stubbornly refusing to work right, and he shrugs.]
For now! There's no sense dwelling on it. We should think of other things. Like how waterfalls work where you're from, or what you have all these... broken watches for?
no subject
I didn't know skeletons ate.
[That is probably rude. He realizes that after he's said it and can't really take it back, but he does smile to show that he's not trying to be offensive, just curious.]
Waterfalls where I'm from usually just drop water. And I don't think these are watches. If I can get them open, I can get a better idea of what they do, but I'm pretty sure they don't tell time.
no subject
Of course skeletons eat. Doesn't everyone?
[He shuffles over, careful with his paws on the damp stone, and leans down to better check out what the not-watches look like.]
And sure, that's most of what waterfalls drop... but they also carry trash from the surface... You'd be amazed what people throw away. Whole refrigerators, sometimes.
no subject
[Tony struggles with that, worried he's faced with a trick question, but Papyrus is so matter of fact that he almost feels ashamed of the question. Of course everyone eats! He should have guessed that.]
Where are you from?
[Tony helpfully holds out one of the strange watches so his new bony friend can have a close look at it.]
I guess I haven't spent a lot of time under different waterfalls. Or maybe it's only a thing in other places.
no subject
[Quite a few things, between the volcanic core, the strangely snowy region, and the whole civilization making its way in the underground.]
...It had better quality trash.
[Everything from complete appliances to anime to packaged food, after all. And with some careful scavenging, one could even find servicable cardboard boxes - after letting them dry a little.
Nothing quite like the damaged watch, though, and Papyrus scratches his chin as he squints at it.]
It's strange there's so many of the same device... I wonder what it could be.
no subject
Well, if we look around maybe we'll find something that can tell us what these are used for. My name is Tony. Did you want to look around together?